It's a tricky one - almost impossible for the referee to spot live, and while at a good angle for the AR, quite a long way away and he may have felt he wasn't credible. And then when it goes to VAR, it has the issue of the fact that it probably isn't quite C&O DOGSO due to the height the ball is bouncing at meaning I don't think you can be confident Jota would have controlled it.
When VAR was first being discussed, this is the kind of thing I thought we might have seen the VAR being a bit smart about. Carry out the check, see a possible DOGSO, initiate the full review and then reach the conclusion that a foul and YC is required. I'm sure that's "legit" within the protocol, but I can't think of any real examples of that happening recently - it seems like the "check" only graduates to a "review" if they're pretty sure there's an overturn during that first stage, at least for anything other than the really tight offside decisions when they know they're going to have to get the lines out.
Also, agree with you 100% on Tierney - he's always drifted by as one of the "middle of the pack" SG1 referees in my mind previously, but he was excellent last night. 2 simulation cards is almost unprecedented in my memory, so I can't blame him for thinking a third for Gordon towards the end would have been excessive! And his bar on yellow and red cards was almost perfect (I think Thiago's was a touch harsh and might have in part been because Everton were getting frustrated that they were getting all the cards!) and his presence and calmness was exactly what it needed to be.
